In One Year: Over 90,000 Illegal Indians Arrested By US

Photo: US Border and Custom Protection

India-West News Desk

WASHINGTON, DC – In an election year where the Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump has engaged in demonizing and often making racist remarks about immigrants including imaginary dog eating ones, and his followers like media personality Tucker Carlson saying that Trump rival for the presidency, the half Indian Kamala Harris is a Malaysian-Samoan, there is more alarming information. This is about migrants of Indian origin. 

According to statistics from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection nearly thousands of undocumented Indians have been apprehended while attempting to enter the U.S. illegally. It has to be noted that most immigration happens to the US for better opportunities.

From October 1, 2023 to September 30, 2024 a total of 90,415 illegal Indian immigrants were caught.

This averages to about ten arrests every hour.

Approximately 50% of these apprehensions involved individuals from Gujarat.

Notably, India is the only country outside Latin America among the top five nationalities of undocumented immigrants in the U.S.

Since 2011, the number of undocumented Indians in the United States has surged by 70%, representing the fastest growth rate among all nationalities.

Data from Customs and Border Protection further reveals that the most significant increases in undocumented Indian immigrants occurred between 2020 and 2023.

Many now are opting to cross the Canadian border instead of the more commonly traversed Mexican border. In fact, 43,764 Indians were detained at the northern border, marking the highest number recorded at that crossing.

The U.S. government has also ramped up deportations of Indian nationals. In fiscal year 2024, which concluded at the end of September, over 1,100 Indian nationals were repatriated, reflecting a steady increase in removals in recent years.

Royce Bernstein Murray, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Border and Immigration Policy, stated, “This increase in repatriation corresponds with a general rise in encounters with Indian nationals.” Murray emphasized the serious legal consequences for those attempting to enter the United States unlawfully. “Crossing into the U.S. irregularly between ports of entry is a violation of U.S. immigration law,” she noted. “Consequences for such crossings can include deportation, a minimum five-year bar on re-entry, and possible criminal prosecution for repeat offenders.”